Palliative care can have a significant impact on payer’s star ratings from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. This is according to Robin Hefferman, co-founder and CEO of Empassion Health. Empassion operates in 45 states and partners with tens of thousands of community-based […]
Greater collaboration is needed to address the full scope of seriously and terminally ill patients’ needs, according to Dr. Kristin Ann Keefe, the new chief medical officer of Colorado-based Care Synergy. Keefe is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine and has decades of experience caring for patients and families. She has previously served as chief […]
The hospice space has seen waves of regulatory changes in recent years that are affecting sustainable access, according to Meg Pekarske, partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell. Ensuring program integrity and quality will take an overhaul of hospice regulation. Pekarske, a hospice and health care attorney, is retiring with more than 25 years of […]
The most important lessons in health care leadership are learned at the bedside, according to Jennifer Sheets, the newly appointed CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home. Sheets became the Alliance’s top executive on Feb. 17, following the departure of previous CEO Dr. Steve Landers. She will also serve as president of the […]
Programs for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) are extremely challenging to establish. Nevertheless, more hospices are other health care providers are investing in the model due to the positive outcomes participants are seeing. The Medicare Advantage and health care provider SCAN Group, parent company of SCAN Health Plan, operates the PACE organization myPlace Health. […]
Hospices need an adaptive approach to meet an evolving range of diverse needs among terminally ill patients and their family caregivers. This is according to HopeHealth President and CEO Diana Franchitto. HopeHealth provides home care, hospice, palliative and dementia care, as well as caregiver and grief support services. The nonprofit health system serves Rhode Island […]
Continuing its de novo- and joint venture-based blueprint for growth, home health and hospice provider CommonSpirit Health at Home is also setting plans in motion to engage patients further upstream for earlier hospice enrollment, when appropriate. CommonSpirit Health at Home is the home-based care arm of the nonprofit health system CommonSpirit Health, which operates more […]
A mission-driven approach that prioritizes patient and employee well-being is crucial to success as a hospice business, according to Joel Wherley, president and CEO of VITAS Healthcare. VITAS is a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE). Wherley came to the company 10 years ago and previously served as its chief operating officer. He began his […]
Health care leaders should resolve to uphold certain less-than-obvious principles in order to be ethical and effective. This is according to SCAN Group CEO Dr. Sachin Jain. SCAN Group is a non-profit Medicare Advantage organization and parent company of SCAN Health Plan, a $2.4 billion organization that covers more than 435,000 members and several clinical […]
Hospice News interviewed several industry leaders to identify the most significant market forces and trends expected to shape the sector in 2026. Their insights revealed several shared themes, including growing demand for home-based care, ongoing workforce challenges, continued industry consolidation, heightened technology adoption and increased regulatory oversight. Participants also emphasized the importance of better integrating […]
